


Donna Noble, Intergalactic Flirt

by Fiercest



Series: Steady as the Beating Drum [5]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awesome Donna Noble, Episode Fix-It: s04e13 Journey's End, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Post-Episode: s04e13 Journey's End, Regeneration, Steady as the Beating Drum 'verse, Time Lord Donna Noble, donna has poor self esteem, the doctor's good for that in his own way, twelve is bad at feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-24 08:13:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17097077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fiercest/pseuds/Fiercest
Summary: Donna Noble finds that post-regeneration, her flirting has a very different effect on people."Doctor, am I beautiful?""I don't know how to answer that question without getting slapped."





	Donna Noble, Intergalactic Flirt

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry it's not a new chapter of Sinner and the Cynical, but this came to me :)

As it turns out, not all Time Lords regenerate the way the Doctor does. His mind is the same, his heart ever so, but he is different every time.

Donna, on the other hand, is unable to escape being ginger. The Doctor says she has a knack for it, keeping her same basic features, many of the same mannerisms and her general personhood. She’s not sure she wants a knack for it.

She conveniently ignores everything else he said; about how a Time Lord’s state of mind could affect their regeneration. Donna is now very small. She refuses to read into it. Instead, she pushes her feelings down deep where she wouldn’t be able to examine them even if she wanted to.

She remains as she was; an unmitigated flirt. Except the universe seems to have rearranged around her. Because instead of being the punchline to a cosmic joke, her flirting starts _working._

When Donna leans over the bar in the old American west in a bid to glean information, the handsome, grizzled cowboy winks right back and slides her a drink before pouring his guts out. While running for their lives with a new friend named Otto, he shouted over the sound of gunshots, “If we live through this, I’m taking you to dinner!” What is this strange power she seems to have suddenly acquired?

It occurs to her one day, while looking at herself in period dress appropriate for 1967. She stares dispassionately into the mirror, feeling a certain distance from her reflection—like the person she sees could be anyone on the street. She evaluates herself as such and finds-

“Doctor,” she calls while entering the control room. “Am I beautiful?”

The Doctor, who had been fiddling with some oblong piece of machinery that glowed purple at uneven intervals, drops his spanner with a loud _clang._ He stares at her wide-eyed and paralyzed, like any sudden move would incur a bear attack. “I don’t know how to answer that question without getting slapped,” he answers honestly.

Donna huffs, “You don’t need to make a thing of it, I’m just asking, as an impartial observer who is _‘above petty human novelties like aesthetics’_ … am I beautiful?”

His throat clearing sounds more like choking.

“Because I’m not doing anything different. I’m just being myself. Is this what the universe is like when you’re good-looking? This is what I was missing out on all that time? People are nicer to me, they listen more. Was I really so awful before?”

The Doctor is ill equipped to handle this tirade. Perhaps in another one of his lives, he’d have been a better fit. The last one was good! He’d been so profuse in his praise. Even the one before that, always telling her how brilliant she was.

“Don’t be stupid,” He says instead. And he could kick himself.

Donna glares at him, unimpressed. “I’m not. Forget it. Forget I said anything. I should just enjoy it while it lasts. Who knows? Next time I might be more of a troll than before.”

“Stop it.”

“I am.”

“No, stop talking about yourself that way,” almost nothing makes the Doctor angrier than someone insulting his friends. Even if they’re the ones doing the insulting. “You were never a troll. You were always… beautiful. What’s more important is that you’re kind, passionate, adventurous and brilliant, but just so you’re aware… you were. Are.” He coughs again. “Are you ready to head out then? Seems like you’ve decided where you want to go.” 

Donna is still reeling from the barrage of awkward compliments she’s just received. Slowly, a sort of peace comes over her. Who cares what anyone else in the universe thinks? The Doctor has always thought she was brilliant. 

“Yeah, I’ve decided. But there’s like a 50% chance we’ll actually end up there. She hardly ever listens to me.” 

He snorts, “That’s about as often as she listens to me.” 

“So we’re even then. Shall we?”

She holds out her hand and he takes it, ready to run on a moment’s notice. “Might as well.”


End file.
